Many people have written to The Queen that Britain's sovereignty and the liberty of the British people are under threat by the EU and that Her Majesty's covenant with her people requires that she defend them.
I think those thousands of letters may be having an effect.
My most recent letter from Buckingham Palace shows a slight and perhaps significant change: The Queen may be growing concerned that a grave threat and a great constitutional question face her.
Letter from HM The Queen
Many people have written to The Queen with the same concerns that I have. Britain's sovereignty and the liberty of the British people are being threatened. The Queen's constitutional duty is to defend them.
I think those thousands of letters may be having an effect.
After my first letter met with a disappointing reply, I wrote again in August and at the end of September. In August:
I wrote to Your Majesty recently about the Lisbon treaty. Ms Bonici sent a reply. It didn't have my name on it as she has apparently been very busy dealing with many letters similar to mine.So many of your subjects have written to Your Majesty precisely because Your Majesty is a constitutional monarch. Your Majesty's subjects expected that a constitutional monarch would uphold the constitution. A part of that constitution is the Coronation Oath, which Your Majesty swore before God and to the people.
Archbishop of Canterbury: Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and of your Possessions and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their respective laws and customs?
Queen: I solemnly promise so to do.
Archbishop: Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?
Queen: I will.
At the time Your Majesty swore the Oath we British were sovereign and made our own laws. Our traditional custom is to freely govern ourselves. With Royal Assent to the Lisbon Treaty Act and Your Majesty's subsequently signing the ratification document, Britain becomes a mere province of the European Union. Your Majesty's subjects will be governed by Brussels, and not by Your Majesty's government.
It is Your Majesty's right, nay, it is Your Majesty's duty and obligation, to refuse Royal Assent to Acts of Parliament that threaten the People's laws and customs or Your Majesty's constitutional position. . .
The September letter:
Your Majesty, It is the right of the British people to petition their monarch.My first petition to Your Majesty was a letter of the 25th of June. It was answered by Mrs Sonia Bonici, who said, “I should explain to you that there is no question of Her Majesty, as constitutional sovereign, refusing Royal Assent to an Act which has been passed by both Houses of Parliament”.
I wrote to Your Majesty again on the 11th of August. I have not received a reply to my second letter although it makes a constitutional point of the gravest importance for Your Majesty and the British people and the continuation of the Monarchy itself.
In Canada, in 1964, Your Majesty made unequivocally clear what the people expect from their constitutional sovereign - “The role of a Constitutional Monarch is to personify the democratic state, to legitimate authority, to assure the legality of its measures and to guarantee the execution of its popular will.”
Parliament may try to persuade Your Majesty to obey it, but Your Majesty has pledged to defend the laws and customs of the people and Your Majesty’s constitutional writ extends to protecting your people from a tyrannical Parliament and from any unjust statute that Parliament may pass.
What would Your Majesty’s father, our dearly beloved George VI, have done if he had been told by Parliament to give away Britain’s freedom and sovereignty to Hitler? Would he, could he possibly have agreed to do Parliament’s bidding?
The answer, again, was made by Your Majesty - “I shall work as my father did throughout his reign to uphold Constitutional government and to uphold the happiness and prosperity of my peoples”.
In giving your Royal Assent to the Lisbon Treaty, Your Majesty has ignored the wishes of your people, which were also ignored by Parliament.
Tyrannical is a realistic description of Parliament, which promised the people a vote on the EU’s Lisbon Treaty and then broke its promise. Negligent is an honest description of many MPs who admitted that they had never read the Lisbon Treaty.
Foreign leaders are agreed that the Lisbon Treaty is the same as the EU constitution. Parliament is forcing the British people to accept this unwanted political settlement, which is sweeping away their long-treasured liberties, laws and customs, which have stood them in such good stead for hundreds of years.
Our Declaration of Right and Bill of Rights plainly state:
“That no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm”.Giving any foreign body authority over the British people is unconstitutional.Britain’s Constitutional government includes a sovereign, a parliament and a judiciary. Are we to believe that Parliament’s overweening domination has reduced the champion of the people, Your Majesty, to a cipher, who cannot speak for us or defend our liberties and whose Royal Assent means nothing because it can never be denied?
Perish the thought.
It was and is still Your Majesty’s responsibility as our constitutional monarch to refuse Parliament your Royal Assent when Parliament passes unconstitutional statutes.
The second reply from Buckingham Palace shows a slight and perhaps significant change.
The Queen may be concerned that a grave threat and a great constitutional question face her:
I urge anyone who has not written to express their concerns to The Queen and everyone who has written to write again, and to write or meet with the Lord Chancellor.
For those who love liberty, the British Constitution below
THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION
The oak is the national tree of England, Wales and the United States.
Some people claim that Britain does not have a Constitution or that it is unwritten. That's surprising since the British Constitution was a model for the constitutions of the US, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand.
John Adams, the lawyer and US President who helped to write the American Constitution, called the British Constitution the most stupendous fabric of human invention. What did John Adams know? Is that knowledge being kept from the British people? Is the Constitution being betrayed? And how does the British Constitution resemble an oak tree?A stupendous invention
A constitution describes how government will be organized and its fundamental principles. Just as your holiday traditions are unwritten, some parts of the British Constitution are unwritten. Many crucial parts of the British Constitution are written down and have been for centuries. They are:
1) Common Law
2) Coronation Oath
3) Magna Carta
4) Parliament
5) The Declaration of Right and
6) The Act of Settlement of 1701
7) The Act of Union
1) COMMON LAW
Established by Alfred the Great (AD 871- 899) Common Law has been developed by the British people for more than a thousand years. It is common because it applies to everyone equally.
Common Law is grounded in the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule - treat others as you would be treated. Common Law was developed by British people so they could settle their differences peacefully and fairly.
Common Law incorporates the Charter of Liberties (1100). The Charter makes the Sovereign subject to the law and affirms that no person is above the law. Common Law includes the Council of Westminster (1102), which ended slavery in England. Common Law protects the right established in the Petition of Right (1627) that no person can be arrested for disagreeing with the government. Common Law defends your property rights, your right to self-defence and your right to be secure in your own home - your home is your castle.
Common Law establishes every person's right to a jury trial and the freedom of juries to declare a person innocent. If a jury believes that a person has been charged under an unjust law, it has the right to acquit. For this reason Common Law is superior to the statute law created by Parliament. In the 17th century the Lord Chief Justice ruled that juries have an inalienable right to freely decide guilt and innocence.
Common Law plainly states that judges are to be guided by precedent - the rulings of previous cases. They are not to make up the law. Where there is no precedent, Common Law dictates that decisions must be made according to principles of fairness recognized by Common Law.
Common Law contributes to the prosperity of Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
2) THE CORONATION OATH
The Coronation Oath is the freely taken and mutual covenant between the British sovereign and the people of Britain. During the coronation ceremony, the people affirm their Sovereign, and the Sovereign in turn swears the Coronation Oath and promises to protect their laws and customs.
First pledged by King Edgar in AD 973, the Coronation Oath binds King or Queen to deliver justice and fair treatment to the British people. HM Elizabeth II swore to uphold the Common Law and the customs of the people of the United Kingdom.
It is the Sovereign’s duty to protect the people's laws and freedoms. The Monarch’s grant of Royal Assent allows an Act of Parliament to take effect. The Sovereign has a Constitutional duty to refuse Royal Assent to unconstitutional acts of Parliament.
Six British sovereigns were deselected and deposed because they did not protect the people's laws and liberties.
3) MAGNA CARTA
In AD 1215, knights, barons, townspeople and clergy established Magna Carta, the Great Charter, and affirmed the people’s rights and liberties. Those rights and liberties included the right to habeas corpus, the right to trial by jury and protection from excessive fines that would devastate your ability to make a living.
As you have read, trial by jury limits the power of the state by giving the power of establishing guilt or innocence to the people. The British people have repeatedly and successfully inhibited tyranny by declaring men and women charged under despotic laws to be innocent.
In 1297 the Model Parliament confirmed Magna Carta in statute law. Magna Carta remains in force to this day. Along with Common Law and the Coronation Oath, Magna Carta is part of the British Constitution and a foundation of British liberty.
4) Parliament
Parliament was established because people wanted honest sheriffs, a say in taxation and a curb on foreign adventures. Henry III had resisted these reforms.
Simon de Montfort captured the king and the prince of Wales in battle. He invited the shires and the towns to vote for representatives to Parliament where the reforms would be discussed and implemented. The first Parliament met on 20 January 1265.
The Statute of Westminster, AD 1275, would appear to be the foundational document that established Parliament. With the Sovereign and the Judiciary, Parliament forms the third branch of government. Its political parties, cabinet, prime minister and whips have gradually evolved as hoary traditions.
Members of Parliament are elected by the people to serve them. MPs are elected to serve as both representatives of their constituencies and as representatives of all the British people. They are supposed to be the defenders of British liberties.
5) Declaration of Right / Bill of Rights
In AD 1689, the Glorious Revolution was won when William and Mary accepted the people's Declaration of Right as part of their Coronation Oath. The Declaration of Right limited the powers of the Sovereign, and reaffirmed the rights and liberties of the people. It was later enacted into statute law by Parliament as the Bill of Rights.
The Declaration and the Bill of Rights affirm that suspending or executing laws or taxes without the consent of Parliament is illegal; that the people have a right to petition the Sovereign; that excessive bail and fines cannot be imposed; and that the people (limited at this time to Protestants who were 98% of the population) have the right to bear arms in their defense.
The right to bear arms gives every person the right to meet violence with reasonable self-defence, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm.
The right to bear arms was also recognized as a centuries-old shield against tyranny. Every genocide of the 20th century was carried out by governments who first deprived their people of their right to bear arms.
The Declaration of Right and Bill of Rights plainly state That no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within this realm. Giving any foreign body authority over the British people is unconstitutional.6) The Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement affirmed that Common Law is the birthright of the people and may never be taken away. The Act declares that the British people are restored to the full and free possession and enjoyment of their religion, rights, and liberties, by the providence of God.
This idea is extremely significant and will become part of the American Constitution. It declares that government cannot grant freedom to the people because freedom belongs to the people by birthright. Government exists not to give the people liberty, but to protect their liberty.
7) The Act of Union 1707
The Act of Union united the kingdom of Scotland with the kingdom of England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The British Constitution was the constitution for the whole Kingdom. However, Scotland retained some of its laws.
The Sovereign, officers of the Courts, members of Parliament, and members of the Civil Service are all sworn to uphold British rights and liberties as embodied in Common Law, the Coronation Oath, Magna Carta, the Declaration of Right and Bill of Rights, the Act of Settlement and the Act of Union.
The structure of the English oak, Quercus robur, is a visual sketch of the organizing principles of the British and American Constitutions. The Constitution has three great branches - the executive (Sovereign), the legislature (Parliament) and the judiciary. They are meant to balance each other just as the three main branches of the oak tree balance each other. The great supporting trunk of the Constitution is rule by just law. The roots of the Constitution are the people. The earth is their birthright of freedom. The people and their freedom nourish the Constitution, and are nourished by it.
IN CONCLUSION
This is the British Constitution that John Adams knew and admired. Its structure of government and its liberties became part of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. It is now in peril.
John Adams warned that if a legislature seized executive power that executive power will corrupt the legislature as necessarily as rust corrupts iron. . .and when the legislature is corrupted, the people are undone.
By destroying the power of the Sovereign, and refusing to allow the Sovereign to withhold Royal Assent, Parliament has usurped the executive power, and has become a tyrant.This is evident in Parliament's approval of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, which will destroy the Common Law and the liberties of the British people and make them subservient to Brussels. The EU is constructed like every would-be tyranny - it asserts that it gives the people their rights and that it can take them away. That is false.
The British Constitution embodies the natural rights and freedoms of the people, but it will only survive if the people defend it.
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MAGNA CARTA
The Great Charter
Preamble
John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects, greetings. Know that, having regard to God and for the salvation of our soul, and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and unto the honor of God and the advancement of his holy Church and for the rectifying of our realm, we have granted as underwritten by advice of our venerable fathers, Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry, archbishop of Dublin, William of London, Peter of Winchester, Jocelyn of Bath and Glastonbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Walter of Worcester, William of Coventry, Benedict of Rochester, bishops; of Master Pandulf, subdeacon and member of the household of our lord the Pope, of brother Aymeric (master of the Knights of the Temple in England), and of the illustrious men William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, William, earl of Salisbury, William, earl of Warenne, William, earl of Arundel, Alan of Galloway (constable of Scotland), Waren Fitz Gerold, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert De Burgh (seneschal of Poitou), Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset, Alan Basset, Philip d'Aubigny, Robert of Roppesley, John Marshal, John Fitz Hugh, and others, our liegemen.The numbers are a modern convenience.
1. In the first place we have granted to God, and by this our present charter confirmed for us and our heirs forever that the English Church shall be free, and shall have her rights entire, and her liberties inviolate; and we will that it be thus observed; which is apparent from this that the freedom of elections, which is reckoned most important and very essential to the English Church, we, of our pure and unconstrained will, did grant, and did by our charter confirm and did obtain the ratification of the same from our lord, Pope Innocent III, before the quarrel arose between us and our barons: and this we will observe, and our will is that it be observed in good faith by our heirs forever. We have also granted to all freemen of our kingdom, for us and our heirs forever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had and held by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs forever.
2. If any of our earls or barons, or others holding of us in chief by military service shall have died, and at the time of his death his heir shall be full of age and owe "relief", he shall have his inheritance by the old relief, to wit, the heir or heirs of an earl, for the whole baroncy of an earl by £100; the heir or heirs of a baron, £100 for a whole barony; the heir or heirs of a knight, £100s, at most, and whoever owes less let him give less, according to the ancient custom of fees.
3. If, however, the heir of any one of the aforesaid has been under age and in wardship, let him have his inheritance without relief and without fine when he comes of age.
4. The guardian of the land of an heir who is thus under age, shall take from the land of the heir nothing but reasonable produce, reasonable customs, and reasonable services, and that without destruction or waste of men or goods; and if we have committed the wardship of the lands of any such minor to the sheriff, or to any other who is responsible to us for its issues, and he has made destruction or waste of what he holds in wardship, we will take of him amends, and the land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that fee, who shall be responsible for the issues to us or to him to whom we shall assign them; and if we have given or sold the wardship of any such land to anyone and he has therein made destruction or waste, he shall lose that wardship, and it shall be transferred to two lawful and discreet men of that fief, who shall be responsible to us in like manner as aforesaid.
5. The guardian, moreover, so long as he has the wardship of the land, shall keep up the houses, parks, fishponds, stanks, mills, and other things pertaining to the land, out of the issues of the same land; and he shall restore to the heir, when he has come to full age, all his land, stocked with ploughs and wainage, according as the season of husbandry shall require, and the issues of the land can reasonable bear.
6. Heirs shall be married without disparagement, yet so that before the marriage takes place the nearest in blood to that heir shall have notice.
7. A widow, after the death of her husband, shall forthwith and without difficulty have her marriage portion and inheritance; nor shall she give anything for her dower, or for her marriage portion, or for the inheritance which her husband and she held on the day of the death of that husband; and she may remain in the house of her husband for forty days after his death, within which time her dower shall be assigned to her.
8. No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she prefers to live without a husband; provided always that she gives security not to marry without our consent, if she holds of us, or without the consent of the lord of whom she holds, if she holds of another.
9. Neither we nor our bailiffs will seize any land or rent for any debt, as long as the chattels of the debtor are sufficient to repay the debt; nor shall the sureties of the debtor be distrained so long as the principal debtor is able to satisfy the debt; and if the principal debtor shall fail to pay the debt, having nothing wherewith to pay it, then the sureties shall answer for the debt; and let them have the lands and rents of the debtor, if they desire them, until they are indemnified for the debt which they have paid for him, unless the principal debtor can show proof that he is discharged thereof as against the said sureties.
10. If one who has borrowed from the Jews any sum, great or small, die before that loan be repaid, the debt shall not bear interest while the heir is under age, of whomsoever he may hold; and if the debt fall into our hands, we will not take anything except the principal sum contained in the bond.
11. And if anyone die indebted to the Jews, his wife shall have her dower and pay nothing of that debt; and if any children of the deceased are left under age, necessaries shall be provided for them in keeping with the holding of the deceased; and out of the residue the debt shall be paid, reserving, however, service due to feudal lords; in like manner let it be done touching debts due to others than Jews.
12. No scutage not aid shall be imposed on our kingdom, unless by common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person, for making our eldest son a knight, and for once marrying our eldest daughter; and for these there shall not be levied more than a reasonable aid. In like manner it shall be done concerning aids from the city of London.
13. And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs, as well by land as by water; furthermore, we decree and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs.
14. And for obtaining the common counsel of the kingdom concerning the assessing of an aid (except in the three cases aforesaid) or of a scutage, we will cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, severally by our letters; and we will moreover cause to be summoned generally, through our sheriffs and bailiffs, and others who hold of us in chief, for a fixed date, namely, after the expiry of at least forty days, and at a fixed place; and in all letters of such summons we will specify the reason of the summons. And when the summons has thus been made, the business shall proceed on the day appointed, according to the counsel of such as are present, although not all who were summoned have come.
15. We will not for the future grant to anyone license to take an aid from his own free tenants, except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and once to marry his eldest daughter; and on each of these occasions there shall be levied only a reasonable aid.
16. No one shall be distrained for performance of greater service for a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement, than is due therefrom.
17. Common pleas shall not follow our court, but shall be held in some fixed place.
18. Inquests of novel disseisin, of mort d' ancestor, and of darrein presentment shall not be held elsewhere than in their own county courts, and that in manner following: We, or, if we should be out of the realm, our chief justiciar, will send two justiciaries through every county four times a year, who shall alone with four knights of the county chosen by the county, hold the said assizes in the county court, on the day and in the place of meeting of that court.
19. And if any of the said assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, let there remain of the knights and freeholders, who were present at the county court on that day, as many as may be required for the efficient making of judgments, according as the business be more or less.
20. A freeman shall not be amerced for a slight offense, except in accordance with the degree of the offense; and for a grave offense he shall be amerced in accordance with the gravity of the offense, yet saving always his "contentment"; and a merchant in the same way, saving his "merchandise"; and a villein shall be amerced in the same way, saving his "wainage" if they have fallen into our mercy: and none of the aforesaid amercements shall be imposed except by the oath of honest men of the neighborhood.
21. Earls and barons shall not be amerced except through their peers, and only in accordance with the degree of the offense.
22. A clerk shall not be amerced in respect of his lay holding except after the manner of the others aforesaid; further, he shall not be amerced in accordance with the extent of his ecclesiastical benefice.
23. No village or individual shall be compelled to make bridges at river banks, except those who from of old were legally bound to do so.
24. No sheriff, constable, coroners, or others of our bailiffs, shall hold pleas of our Crown.
25. All counties, hundred, wapentakes, and trithings (except our demesne manors) shall remain at the old rents, and without any additional payment.
26. If anyone holding of us a lay fief shall die, and our sheriff or bailiff shall exhibit our letters patent of summons for a debt which the deceased owed us, it shall be lawful for our sheriff or bailiff to attach and enroll the chattels of the deceased, found upon the lay fief, to the value of that debt, at the sight of law worthy men, provided always that nothing whatever be thence removed until the debt which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be left to the executors to fulfill the will of the deceased; and if there be nothing due from him to us, all the chattels shall go to the deceased, saving to his wife and children their reasonable shares.
27. If any freeman shall die intestate, his chattels shall be distributed by the hands of his nearest kinsfolk and friends, under supervision of the Church, saving to every one the debts which the deceased owed to him.
28. No constable or other bailiff of ours shall take corn or other provisions from anyone without immediately tendering money therefore, unless he can have postponement thereof by permission of the seller.
29. No constable shall compel any knight to give money in lieu of castle-guard, when he is willing to perform it in his own person, or (if he himself cannot do it from any reasonable cause) then by another responsible man. Further, if we have led or sent him upon military service, he shall be relieved from guard in proportion to the time during which he has been on service because of us.
30. No sheriff or bailiff of ours, or other person, shall take the horses or carts of any freeman for transport duty, against the will of the said freeman.
31. Neither we nor our bailiffs shall take, for our castles or for any other work of ours, wood which is not ours, against the will of the owner of that wood.
32. We will not retain beyond one year and one day, the lands those who have been convicted of felony, and the lands shall thereafter be handed over to the lords of the fiefs.
33. All kydells for the future shall be removed altogether from Thames and Medway, and throughout all England, except upon the seashore.
34. The writ which is called praecipe shall not for the future be issued to anyone, regarding any tenement whereby a freeman may lose his court.
35. Let there be one measure of wine throughout our whole realm; and one measure of ale; and one measure of corn, to wit, "the London quarter"; and one width of cloth (whether dyed, or russet, or "halberget"), to wit, two ells within the selvedges; of weights also let it be as of measures.
36. Nothing in future shall be given or taken for a writ of inquisition of life or limbs, but freely it shall be granted, and never denied.
37. If anyone holds of us by fee-farm, either by socage or by burage, or of any other land by knight's service, we will not (by reason of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage), have the wardship of the heir, or of such land of his as if of the fief of that other; nor shall we have wardship of that fee-farm, socage, or burgage, unless such fee-farm owes knight's service. We will not by reason of any small serjeancy which anyone may hold of us by the service of rendering to us knives, arrows, or the like, have wardship of his heir or of the land which he holds of another lord by knight's service.
38. No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his "law", without credible witnesses brought for this purposes.
39. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and / or by the law of the land.
Magna Carta was written in Latin and the Latin word vel may be translated as OR or AND. The great Magna Carta scholar William Sharp McKechnie, who wrote, MAGNA CARTA - A COMMENTARY believes the correct translation is AND.
The drafters are emphasising that whatever judgement is given must be given lawfully. "Lawful judgment of one's peers" – a trial by jury – has to be given according to the laws of the land otherwise it could not be called "lawful".
40. To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.
41. All merchants shall have safe and secure exit from England, and entry to England, with the right to tarry there and to move about as well by land as by water, for buying and selling by the ancient and right customs, quit from all evil tolls, except (in time of war) such merchants as are of the land at war with us. And if such are found in our land at the beginning of the war, they shall be detained, without injury to their bodies or goods, until information be received by us, or by our chief justiciar, how the merchants of our land found in the land at war with us are treated; and if our men are safe there, the others shall be safe in our land.
42. It shall be lawful in future for anyone (excepting always those imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the kingdom, and natives of any country at war with us, and merchants, who shall be treated as if above provided) to leave our kingdom and to return, safe and secure by land and water, except for a short period in time of war, on grounds of public policy - reserving always the allegiance due to us.
43. If anyone holding of some escheat (such as the honor of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other escheats which are in our hands and are baronies) shall die, his heir shall give no other relief, and perform no other service to us than he would have done to the baron if that barony had been in the baron's hand; and we shall hold it in the same manner in which the baron held it.
44. Men who dwell without the forest need not henceforth come before our justiciaries of the forest upon a general summons, unless they are in plea, or sureties of one or more, who are attached for the forest.
45. We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or bailiffs only such as know the law of the realm and mean to observe it well.
46. All barons who have founded abbeys, concerning which they hold charters from the kings of England, or of which they have long continued possession, shall have the wardship of them, when vacant, as they ought to have.
47. All forests that have been made such in our time shall forthwith be disafforsted; and a similar course shall be followed with regard to river banks that have been placed "in defence" by us in our time.
48. All evil customs connected with forests and warrens, foresters and warreners, sheriffs and their officers, river banks and their wardens, shall immediately by inquired into in each county by twelve sworn knights of the same county chosen by the honest men of the same county, and shall, within forty days of the said inquest, be utterly abolished, so as never to be restored, provided always that we previously have intimation thereof, or our justiciar, if we should not be in England.
49. We will immediately restore all hostages and charters delivered to us by Englishmen, as sureties of the peace of faithful service.
50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of Athee (so that in future they shall have no bailiwick in England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne, Peter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geoffrey of Martigny with his brothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood of the same.
51. As soon as peace is restored, we will banish from the kingdom all foreign born knights, crossbowmen, serjeants, and mercenary soldiers who have come with horses and arms to the kingdom's hurt.
52. If anyone has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will immediately restore them to him; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided by the five and twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the clause for securing the peace. Moreover, for all those possessions, from which anyone has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which we retain in our hand (or which as possessed by others, to whom we are bound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised, or an inquest made by our order, before our taking of the cross; but as soon as we return from the expedition, we will immediately grant full justice therein.
53. We shall have, moreover, the same respite and in the same manner in rendering justice concerning the disafforestation or retention of those forests which Henry our father and Richard our brother afforested, and concerning the wardship of lands which are of the fief of another (namely, such wardships as we have hitherto had by reason of a fief which anyone held of us by knight's service), and concerning abbeys founded on other fiefs than our own, in which the lord of the fee claims to have right; and when we have returned, or if we desist from our expedition, we will immediately grant full justice to all who complain of such things.
54. No one shall be arrested or imprisoned upon the appeal of a woman, for the death of any other than her husband.
55. All fines made with us unjustly and against the law of the land, and all amercements, imposed unjustly and against the law of the land, shall be entirely remitted, or else it shall be done concerning them according to the decision of the five and twenty barons whom mention is made below in the clause for securing the pease, or according to the judgment of the majority of the same, along with the aforesaid Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as he may wish to bring with him for this purpose, and if he cannot be present the business shall nevertheless proceed without him, provided always that if any one or more of the aforesaid five and twenty barons are in a similar suit, they shall be removed as far as concerns this particular judgment, others being substituted in their places after having been selected by the rest of the same five and twenty for this purpose only, and after having been sworn.
56. If we have disseised or removed Welshmen from lands or liberties, or other things, without the legal judgment of their peers in England or in Wales, they shall be immediately restored to them; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided in the marches by the judgment of their peers; for the tenements in England according to the law of England, for tenements in Wales according to the law of Wales, and for tenements in the marches according to the law of the marches. Welshmen shall do the same to us and ours.
57. Further, for all those possessions from which any Welshman has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed by King Henry our father, or King Richard our brother, and which we retain in our hand (or which are possessed by others, and which we ought to warrant), we will have respite until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised or an inquest made by our order before we took the cross; but as soon as we return (or if perchance we desist from our expedition), we will immediately grant full justice in accordance with the laws of the Welsh and in relation to the foresaid regions.
58. We will immediately give up the son of Llywelyn and all the hostages of Wales, and the charters delivered to us as security for the peace.
59. We will do towards Alexander, king of Scots, concerning the return of his sisters and his hostages, and concerning his franchises, and his right, in the same manner as we shall do towards our other barons of England, unless it ought to be otherwise according to the charters which we hold from William his father, formerly king of Scots; and this shall be according to the judgment of his peers in our court.
60. Moreover, all these aforesaid customs and liberties, the observances of which we have granted in our kingdom as far as pertains to us towards our men, shall be observed by all of our kingdom, as well clergy as laymen, as far as pertains to them towards their men.
61. Since, moveover, for God and the amendment of our kingdom and for the better allaying of the quarrel that has arisen between us and our barons, we have granted all these concessions, desirous that they should enjoy them in complete and firm endurance forever, we give and grant to them the underwritten security, namely, that the barons choose five and twenty barons of the kingdom, whomsoever they will, who shall be bound with all their might, to observe and hold, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have granted and confirmed to them by this our present Charter, so that if we, or our justiciar, or our bailiffs or any one of our officers, shall in anything be at fault towards anyone, or shall have broken any one of the articles of this peace or of this security, and the offense be notified to four barons of the foresaid five and twenty, the said four barons shall repair to us (or our justiciar, if we are out of the realm) and, laying the transgression before us, petition to have that transgression redressed without delay. And if we shall not have corrected the transgression (or, in the event of our being out of the realm, if our justiciar shall not have corrected it) within forty days, reckoning from the time it has been intimated to us (or to our justiciar, if we should be out of the realm), the four barons aforesaid shall refer that matter to the rest of the five and twenty barons, and those five and twenty barons shall, together with the community of the whole realm, distrain and distress us in all possible ways, namely, by seizing our castles, lands, possessions, and in any other way they can, until redress has been obtained as they deem fit, saving harmless our own person, and the persons of our queen and children; and when redress has been obtained, they shall resume their old relations towards us. And let whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the said five and twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters, and along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we publicly and freely grant leave to everyone who wishes to swear, and we shall never forbid anyone to swear. All those, moveover, in the land who of themselves and of their own accord are unwilling to swear to the twenty five to help them in constraining and molesting us, we shall by our command compel the same to swear to the effect foresaid. And if any one of the five and twenty barons shall have died or departed from the land, or be incapacitated in any other manner which would prevent the foresaid provisions being carried out, those of the said twenty five barons who are left shall choose another in his place according to their own judgment, and he shall be sworn in the same way as the others. Further, in all matters, the execution of which is entrusted,to these twenty five barons, if perchance these twenty five are present and disagree about anything, or if some of them, after being summoned, are unwilling or unable to be present, that which the majority of those present ordain or command shall be held as fixed and established, exactly as if the whole twenty five had concurred in this; and the said twenty five shall swear that they will faithfully observe all that is aforesaid, and cause it to be observed with all their might. And we shall procure nothing from anyone, directly or indirectly, whereby any part of these concessions and liberties might be revoked or diminished; and if any such things has been procured, let it be void and null, and we shall never use it personally or by another.
62. And all the will, hatreds, and bitterness that have arisen between us and our men, clergy and lay, from the date of the quarrel, we have completely remitted and pardoned to everyone. Moreover, all trespasses occasioned by the said quarrel, from Easter in the sixteenth year of our reign till the restoration of peace, we have fully remitted to all, both clergy and laymen, and completely forgiven, as far as pertains to us. And on this head, we have caused to be made for them letters testimonial patent of the lord Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, of the lord Henry, archbishop of Dublin, of the bishops aforesaid, and of Master Pandulf as touching this security and the concessions aforesaid.
63. Wherefore we will and firmly order that the English Church be free, and that the men in our kingdom have and hold all the aforesaid liberties, rights, and concessions, well and peaceably, freely and quietly, fully and wholly, for themselves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all respects and in all places forever, as is aforesaid. An oath, moreover, has been taken, as well on our part as on the part of the barons, that all these conditions aforesaid shall be kept in good faith and without evil intent. Given under our hand - the above named and many others being witnesses - in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines, on the fifteenth day of June, in the seventeenth year of our reign.
According to Gerald Murphy and Nancy Troutman of the Cleveland Free-Net who helped to prepare and make available the text (details below), this is but one of three different translations of Magna Carta, which was originally written in Latin, probably by Archbishop, Stephen Langton.
Magna Carta was almost immediately violated by King John, and the knight-barons went to war over the breach. Just over a year later, with no resolution in sight, John died, and was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Henry III. Magna Carta was reissued again, without the security clause (61), in 1216, 1217 and 1225. Murphy and Troutman believe that the version presented here is the one that preceded all of the others.
Acknowledgments
The text for this version was prepared by Nancy Troutman (The Cleveland Free-Net - aa345). It was distributed by the Cybercasting Services Division of the National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN). Permission is hereby given to download, reprint, and/or otherwise redistribute this file, provided appropriate point of origin credit is given to the preparer(s) and the National Public Telecomputing Network.
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The U.S. Constitution begins "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution. . ."Photo: DNY59@istockphoto.com
BUILDING ON BRITISH RIGHTS
TO ESTABLISH
THE FRAMEWORK OF FREEDOMAfter winning a long, hard war, Americans create the U.S. Constitution on what they like best about the British Constitution. Brits in Britain expand the fight to end the slave trade.
While sitting under an English oak in 1787, three young men decide they are going to end the slave trade in British colonies. They are William Pitt the Younger, Britain's youngest Prime Minister, and his friends William Grenville, and William Wilberforce. Granville Sharp and Thomas Clarkson, a young Cambridge grad, have already joined the fight against slavery with Lord and Lady Middleton.
Photo: Cheshire Government
1787 - 1789 THE FIGHT TO END THE SLAVE TRADE GOES INTO HIGH GEAR
Granville Sharp is indefatigable. He has resigned his government job in protest against Britain waging war in America. He has won the Common Law ruling that slavery is illegal in England. On May 22, 1787, he and eleven Christians – Quakers and Anglicans – gather at a printing shop in London, Now he becomes Chair of the Committee for the Abolition of the African Slave Trade.
Working with him is Thomas Clarkson, just twenty-five. (See 1785) and a small, happy man (“a perfect shrimp who swelled into a whale,” Boswell remarks in his diary) called William ‘Wilber’ Wilberforce. Wilber is independently wealthy and a Member of Parliament for the largest constituency in England. He has a rapier wit. In 1785 he has a Christian conversion experience. When he does, he wonders whether he should stay in Parliament, where evangelical Christians are exposed to contempt and ridicule. He thinks about resigning, but becomes convinced that he must stay, and end slavery. Dying, John Wesley, founder of Methodism, writes his last letter to Wilber, urging him to take on the struggle.
Meeting in London and at Teston, Kent, these men, along with renowned writer Hannah More and Charles Middleton (later Lord Barham) pledge to launch a national campaign. Clarkson translates his essay into English, publishes it, and travels 35,000 miles, establishing local anti-slave societies in cities and towns across Britain. Organising locally in the country will prove crucial to ending the slavery, as will revolts by slaves in the colonies.
Affirming that they are accountable to Christ, the abolitionists take on the richest and most powerful men in Britain.
To read about the the Fellowship that abolished the slave trade and slavery.
1787 - 1791 BUILDING FROM THE PEOPLE UP
Just before the Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia, John Adams rushes to publish his ideas about constitutional government. He envisions a republic based on that “most stupendous fabric of human invention” – the British Constitution.
Like their British forbears, Americans are keen to protect themselves from arbitrary, unlimited government. They aim to build a limited government that is founded on the consent of the people and that is designed so governmental abuse of power is prevented. Brits had established a Parliament and an independent judiciary to balance the power of the executive monarchy and preserve ancient liberties. In a superb variation of these ideas, Americans create three branches of government that will check and balance each other – a strong, elected executive, an elected legislature with two chambers, and an independent judiciary which delivers justice under law. Under the U.S. Constitution:
- Separation of powers gives each of the three branches of government distinct powers and responsibilities. The power of each branch is checked and balanced by the power of the other branches.
- Federalism divides the powers of government between the national government and the states.
- The powers of national and state governments are limited. They can do only what the Constitution allows them to do.
In 1791 Americans amend their Constitution, adding a Bill of Rights that has been called the greatest protection of human freedom in the history of the world. Brits in Britain fought for and gained many of the rights and freedoms that are enshrined in the American Bill of Rights. Those rights and freedoms that are in the British Constitution appear in red.
The U.S. Bill of Rights:
1st Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
2nd Amendment
A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
3rd Amendment
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.4th Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
5th Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
6th Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Seventh Amendment
In Suits at Common Law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the Common Law.
8th Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
9th Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
10th Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Creating the U.S. Constitution was a messy business, an improvisation on the edge of catastrophe. Due to the excellence of its construction the American Constitution survived, and is older than the French, German, Italian, Belgian, Spanish and Greek constitutions combined.
Photo: JLPhotographix@istockphoto.com
1790s ALEXANDER HAMILTON BUILDS BRILLIANT FREE MARKET NATION
Born illegitimate on the British island of Nevis, an orphan after his father abandons him and his mother dies, Hamilton goes to work at the age of thirteen in a counting house on St. Croix, and makes a success of it, learning how to make money and lead men. He also learns to hate and despise slavery, and trusts it will be doomed by modern economies.
At seventeen his genius take him to New York and King’s College (now Columbia University) where he throws himself into his studies and the cause of the American Revolution, writing eloquently and raising an artillery company of students. He is brave and efficient in the fighting around the Battle of Long Island, and becomes Washington’s right-hand man during the years of war, winning renown at Yorktown.
After the war he falls in love, marries happily, founds the first American bank, the Bank of New York in 1784, and joins the support for a Constitutional Convention. Throughout the hot summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Hamilton, who had seen firsthand how a weak government had almost lost the Revolution, argues for a strong central government and president, and for the abolition of slavery.
The Constitution contains checks and balances to power that he did not support, but he campaigns for its ratification, cowriting with John Jay the 85 eloquent Federalist Papers. When the Constitution is passed, and a new government is formed, Hamilton joins George Washington’s Administration as the first Secretary of the Treasury. He establishes the new United States of America as a society based on the principles of Adam Smith with free markets of money, land, and energy, protected by law and nurtured by the public credit, stock and commodity exchanges. In 1791, Hamilton creates the Bank of the United States, the forerunner of the Federal Reserve.
One of Hamilton's core philosophical beliefs: “In matters of industry, human enterprise ought doubtless to be left free in the main, not fettered by too much regulation, but practical politicians know that it may be beneficially stimulated by prudent aids and encouragements on the part of government.” Hamilton would doubtless emphasise the words free in the main and prudent. He was famous for observing, "The nation that can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one."
1791 THOMAS PAINE FIGHTS WITH HIS PEN FOR THE RIGHTS OF MAN
Not everyone likes Thomas Paine. He was once described as something "between Pig and Puppy." Back in Britain in the 1790s, Paine publishes the Rights of Man. He argues that the “illuminating and divine principle of the equal rights of man. . .has its origin from the Maker of man.”
Paine believes that all too often it is governments that cause the miseries of their people. His observation that public officials avoid taking blame for the mistakes they commit while taking credit for the good they have done nothing to create, may strike a chord.
History convinces Paine that monarchies and dictatorships are militaristic and that persecution is always the feature of a state religion established by law. He advises the Brits to scuttle both titles and Parliament, hold a national convention, and create a republic free of a state church. He adamantly declares, “To say that any people are not fit for freedom is to make poverty their choice.”
He describes high taxes as an unfair burden on the poor, and suggests a form of social security for the aged that would equal the interest they would have received from the money they paid in taxes. Some of his suggestions point to a welfare state, and destroy the rights he wants to protect, but his passionate thinking is always provocative.
1778 - 1793 CATHOLIC RELIEF ACTS PASSED
The first Catholic Relief Act was passed in 1778; subject to an oath against Stuart claims to the throne and the civil jurisdiction of the Pope, it allowed Roman Catholics in Great Britain and Ireland to own property, inherit land, and join the army. Reaction against this led to riots in Scotland in 1779 and to the Gordon Riots in London in 1780.
The Irish Parliament passed similar Acts between 1778 and 1793. Roman Catholics began to gain access to many professions from which they had been excluded. However most remained excluded from voting. Irish desires for complete independence would lead to an Irish uprising in 1798.
1792 MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT FIGHTS WITH HER PEN FOR THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN
The daughter of a Spitalfields handkerchief weaver, Mary Wollstonecraft manages to acquire an education, and open a school for girls. She leaves the school to nurse a friend dying of TB, takes a job as a governess to survive, and writes a novel. Joseph Johnson invites her to work for his journal "Analytical Review", which brings her into contact with radical thinkers. She writes the Vindication of the Rights of Men, where she criticises slavery and the treatment of the poor.
Mary Wollstonecraft's experience of unmarried motherhood bears witness to mistaken passion, self-induced helplessness, and heroism. In her Vindication of the Rights of Women, she advocates education for women, arguing that the rights of men and the rights of women are one and the same.
Four years later she and William Godwin fall in love, and marry. She is 38 when she dies after giving birth to Mary Shelley. Her ideas will inspire 20th century women rights campaigners.
1792 CHARLES JAMES FOX PASSES LIBEL LAW THAT RESTRICTS GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO PUNISH SEDITIOUS LIBEL
Seditious libel is the 'crime' of criticizing the government. Governments deprive the people of their freedom of speech to prevent being criticized. Despite the fact that he is libelled and caricatured more than any other man in public life, the witty, exotic, and scandalous Charles James Fox pushes a liberal Libel Act through Parliament that allows a defendant to plead the truth as a defence and to be judged by a jury of his peers.
1794 HARDY DEFENDS FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION; JURY REFUSES TO CONVICT HIM
Thomas Hardy (the shoemaker, not the novelist) decides that the Members of the House of Commons do not represent working men and that Parliament’s foreign policy is contributing to his economic distress. In 1792 Hardy and seven other men establish the London Corresponding Society to reform Parliament. Two of their members are arrested and sentenced to 14 years, but Hardy bravely continues, in passionate defence of freedom of association. Shortly, he finds himself in the Tower of London on trial for high treason.
The Government mounts a propaganda campaign against him. A mob attacks his house, and his pregnant wife tries to escape through a window. In the shock, the child is stillborn, and Mrs. Hardy dies.
Hardy's trial begins. The prosecution tries to make the case that he and the London Corresponding Society are encouraging people to disobey King and Parliament, but the jury will have none of it, and frees Hardy and his co-defendants. This is a great breakthrough for freedom of association.
1797 WELSH MEN AND WOMEN DEFEND BRITAIN FROM FRENCH
On February 22, the French land 1400 men at Fishguard, expecting that the people of the British Isles sympathise with the recent French Revolution and will join them in marching against their government.
They are surprised to find members of the Welsh homeguard, under Lieutenant Colonel Knox, fiercely defending the Island of Britain, aided by a host of women. Jemima Nicholas, wielding a pitchfork, is supposed to have "persuaded" 12 French troops to surrender. A blacksmith by trade, she carries two recalcitrant French soldiers, one under each arm.
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